I found this challenge really pushed me. I thought to start off that I would chose a song to emulate that would be way different from the type of song that I usually write, and then I would write all the lyrics first before trying to put them to music. I thought that using Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" as some sort of template would be interesting for lyrics.

Challenge: Spend 10 minutes a day for the next 5 days in 5 different places, i.e. subway, take-out counter, coffee shop, etc., and turn on your antennae. Jot down some song ideas based on each of those 10 minutes. Then, at the end of the week, choose your favourite and write a song.

Wouldn't you know it, I ended up getting inspired by one of my Opening Lines "The elephant in the room just farted.". It's a silly Monty Python style of tune (with some environmental undertones) that I think could be developed as a show tune or a barbershop quartet....I've posted it on SoundCloud;

I'm constantly going back to make adjustments to my lyrics, especially once I try to put them to music and try to perform them. This involves trying to find the right phrasing and weeding out the words that don't "sound right". Also, it's where I experiment with moving verses around. Here's the latest version of "In A Perfect World", I've added a coda;

I found that at first glance, none of the titles, themes or opening lines that I came up with inspired me. For some reason, another title popped into my head "In A Perfect World" (which I'm going to swap with "A Seed In The Wind"). A song came together quickly after that. Here's the lyrics;

In a perfect world,

Things would be so easy,

I wouldn't have to struggle any more.

Money would be as free as breathing

But in a perfect world,

Could I love you more?

In a perfect world,

There would be no evil.

No reasons for us to go to war.

No man's fist, raised 'gainst another.

But in a perfect world,

Could I love you more?

In a perfect world,

Everyone is friendly,

It's a place where no one ever locks the door

We would take only what we need

But in a perfect world,

Could I love you more?

Our love has built a bond between us,

With every hardship faced along the way,

That's getting stronger every day.

In a perfect world,

We wouldn't have to worry,

What the years ahead of us have in store.

All our plans would come together

But in a perfect world,

Could I love you more?

Now I've realized that I've rhymed 'more' with 'more' in the 1st verse (which is unfortunate, but I don't want to keep that). Also, I think I have one verse too many. The easiest path for me to take is to just drop the 1st verse, and then I've resolved both issues!

I decided to write this on guitar and came up with a pleasant melody. Hopefully I'll be able to make some sort of recording of this prior to this coming Monday's deadline.

This week's challenge has a couple of parts. The first is to identify 3 song titles, 3 themes and 3 opening lines that strike me as interesting for existing songs. The second part is to come up with 5 titles, 5 themes and 5 opening lines of my own. The 3rd part is to write a song using one of those titles, themes or opening lines and to have it completed by Monday, February 24th.